SCE News & Updates

Stop Child Executions has just submitted for United Nations Universal Periodic Review, the following reviews on the status of child executions in Iran. SCE hopes that UN and Iran government will use our recommendations in the final report to Iran.

On 10 October 2009, World Day Against the Death Penalty, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty wishes to teach abolition to all citizens around the world, especially to teenagers aged 14 to 18.

Today, 139 countries from all regions of the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice and ‘only’ 25 countries carried out executions in 2008. According to Amnesty International, 93% of registered executions took place in five countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Future progress will mainly depend on the education our children receive as they are tomorrow's citizens, politicians, defendants, judges and lawyers. The world’s future is in their hands and it will be up to each and every one of them as adults to join the abolitionist family.

By encouraging debates on the death penalty on 10 October, the members of the World Coalition would like pupils and students to understand the state of the world they are living in: the severity, sometimes the cruelty, but also the beauty of the human rights ideal. Our aim is for them to acquire fundamental knowledge and understand why the death penalty is an attack on basic rights.

"The overwhelming international consensus that the death penalty should not apply to juvenile offenders stems from the recognition that young persons, because of their immaturity, may not fully comprehend the consequences of their actions and should therefore benefit from less severe sanctions than adults. More importantly, it reflects the firm belief that young persons are more susceptible to change, and thus have a greater potential for rehabilitation than adults." Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights